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My dad and I share a lot of “likes”: smoked salmon with dill and capers, classic rock, unplugged alternative rock, a good beer, a great wine, The Lawrence Welk show, dancing, going to bed early, stars, and road biking, to name a few. Biking stands out as a long-time memory, as I grew up watching my dad strap on those funny shoes and click away on some race he was doing that weekend, 50, 65, 100 miles no problem. I, too, eventually had the biking itch, and while I never rode competitively, I think I can hold my own on a bike.

On some long rides, as we clicked in and started down the pine and eucalyptus-lined greenbelt to reach the road leading to the hilly, California beach canyons, Dad would sternly remind me, “Eat before you’re hungry, and drink before you’re thirsty. Or else you’ll bonk.” Eating on a bike isn’t exactly gourmet, but calorie quality is a necessity. Bananas, granola bars, and peanut butter M&Ms are all perfectly unbonkable foods.

When Rob became a serious fixture in my life, Dad was quick to ask if he rode. He did, and was quite good in fact. Even when Rob was “out of shape” he could fly passed me up a hill in a lower gear no problem. I think even my dad was impressed.

So last weekend when we decided to take a leisurely 10-mile ride to try out the new fixie Dad has worked for me, it was odd to see Rob almost a quarter mile behind us, peddling like the dickens. He had just gotten a new chain, and was giving it a test-ride as well. But there was no reason for such a lag, especially on these flat, Jacksonville country roads.

When we arrived to our destination (Chili’s for lunch), Rob realized his brake had been rubbing on his tire the whole time. A convenient excuse! But a legitimate reason nonetheless.

Lunch, sans bananas and peanut M&Ms, was nice and filled us a little too much to feel extremely comfortable on a road bike. As we pushed through the gut-bomb feeling and picked up the pace (this time, Rob right in line), it seemed all was smooth sailing. That is until I heard Rob’s voice from a ways back.

“We’ve got a problem!” he yelled. I echoed the same to my dad a couple feet in front, and we slowed, turned, stopped, clicked out, and looked back. There, with another legitimate reason to fall behind, was Rob, holding his brand new chain, hanging limp, completely snapped. There was no way to fix it (the guys tried as I watched), and they finally came to this conclusion:

Well, they don’t call Rob a Coastie for nothing!

After the eventful ride, a good dinner was definitely in order. Rob has started to take a liking to shrimp (Yay! Woohoo! Hallelujah!), and of course, anything fried in these parts warrants a decent meal. But to keep things on the lighter side, I got a little creative with my Boom Boom Shrimp.

Using a local U-15/20 shrimp (these are good medium-sized buggers, weighing in at under 15-20 shrimp per pound), I peeled and deveined them myself. There’s something about sitting on our back porch in the early spring sunlight, peeling shrimp, sipping tea, with Sig at my feet watching the golfers go by; definitely antebellum-esque. After the shrimp – and my hands – were cleaned, I lightly drizzled over some beautifully green grapeseed oil, and more liberally sprinkled Old Bay. Yep, we went old school, folks.

After a relaxing seasoned and oiled spa treatment in the fridge, the shrimp were ready for the jacuzzi – a quick and very light douse of s&p seasoned flour, and into a shallow, coconut oiled cast iron pan they went. Coconut oil is 1) healthy, 2) tasty, and 3) holds a shallow pan-fry well because of its high smoking point (however, I would not use it for deep frying. That’s when rice bran oil or peanut oil get their 15 minutes of fame).

Taking only a minute or two per side, the shrimp get pink, plump, curled, and crispy. It’s amazing that only a tiny bit of flour and a good quality oil can produce a “fried” shrimp that could probably stand up to other beer-battered Boom Booms of these parts. We had a trio of sauces; my favorite was my Strawberry BBQ sauce, while Dad and Rob loved the Asian-inspired sweet ginger sauce. With a not-so-Southern cole slaw on the side, the meal was perfect, and filling – especially after such a hard ride!

Boom Boom Shrimp(serves 4)

2 lbs. medium shrimp (go for a local, wild source, not farmed), peeled and deveined (keep the little tails on for easy grabbing and eating)

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

¼ c coconut oil

1 c flour

s&p

Put the cleaned and deveined shrimp in a large bowl with the grapeseed oil and Old Bay. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 3 hours.

To prepare the frying process, heat the coconut oil in a heavy bottomed pan (I use my cast iron skillet) until the temp reaches 320, and season the flour with s&p. Lightly dredge the shrimp in the flour, shaking off the excess before placing in the oil. After about a minute, flip the shrimp, and then let cook for another minute until curled, pink, and cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, and quickly season with a sprinkle of salt.

Let’s just say, yesterday was a good day. Especially since almost every ingredient I used throughout the day came from local Oregon farms (or waters). Check it out:

Breakfast (which turned into Brunch by the time it all came together): Deconstructed Egg Salad; soft boiled quail eggs with a creamy vinaigrette, with tender greens and scallions, and bacon. I’m sure it was quite a sight to see, me hunched over the counter for nearly 30 minutes delicately peeling the thin skins on all those darn little quail eggs, but it was worth the backache, and the time.

Happy Hour: Lemon Pepper Edamame; Just like it sounds! Creamy, crunchy soy beans, still warm in their pods, topped with a sprinkle of freshly cracked pepper and lemon zest. The bowl was gone while the hour was still happy.

Dinner: Sauteed Shrimp with Tomatoes and Chard; since Rob is out of town, my mercury level will definitely rise this week with the amount of shellfish I’m planning on consuming (despite all my efforts and preparations, he still won’t touch the stuff). This simple meal, combined with fresh artisan sourdough, completely rounded out the foodie day. I was licking the bowl. Literally. Please don’t judge.

Sauteed Shrimp with Tomatoes and Chard (serves 2)

1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 small sweet white onion (Walla Walla is great), thinly sliced

about 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 c swiss chard sliced into very thin ribbons, called chiffonade (measure after you slice)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/8 tsp dried oregano

1/2 c chardonnay

1 tbsp marscapone cheese

zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

s&p

good crusty bread, to serve, preferably sourdough

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add the onions, and a bit of salt, and saute until translucent. Add the tomatoes and the chard, and continue to saute until the chard has just started to wilt.

Meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper.

Once chard has started to wilt, add in the red pepper flakes, oregano, and deglaze the pan with the chardonnay. After about 2 minutes, add in the shrimp, and saute until shrimp is just starting to turn to pink. Cover the pan and let simmer until shrimp is just cooked, about 3-4 minutes. Take off the cover, turn off the heat, and add in the marscapone cheese, stirring to incorporate. Taste for seasoning.

Serve in a shallow bowl with the pan sauce, and with chunks of bread to rip off and soak up all the goodness. Then, lick the bowl when finished.

Enjoy!

Sig got a hold of a rogue blueberry. He played with it for a while, but then swallowed it whole, and started begging for more. Figures.

Like this:

When my husband and I first started dating, within one of our first conversations, he told me that he didn’t eat fish. Period. I would be lying if I said a this-is-never-going-to-work thought didn’t cross my mind. After all, fish is the main protein in my diet! And I’m a cook! What are we going to eat at dinnertime?! But that thought quickly vanished within the same conversation hearing about what he did like to eat and realizing he had a pretty good palette. Plus, he’s really cute.

Since then and many, many meals later, Rob’s taste for food has drastically grown and he’s even asking for things he originally hated (i.e. beets). He’s taken a liking to fish (yay!) but he’s still pretty adamant about not eating shellfish (being a Marine Science major, he says he knows too much about them to eat them. I absolutely love shellfish, so I don’t ask what he knows). So as seen in past posts, whenever I decide to indulge in Oregon’s finest shellfish, I usually do so when Rob is out flying that little orange helicopter over volatile seas.

As mentioned in my past posting, I passed on cooking my Cioppino last Friday due to the prior crazy work week. But knowing this week was going to be another hectic ride (we just finished parent conferences), I knew I couldn’t put off my Cioppino yet again.

So on Saturday, after locking ourselves out of the house, waiting for the locksmith (at least it was sunny out!), visiting the pet adoption agency to see if we could add a 4-legged member to our little family (sadly, our doggie bed still lays cold in the garage), Rob and I made our way to Charleston to buy some of Oregon Coast’s finest: fish.

While our fish monger piled pounds of steamer clams and medium-sized tiger shrimp onto the scales, I could sense Rob’s jaw start to tense. Shellfish. Eww. Because I was making a “white” Cioppino with veal and pork sausage rather than the standard chorizo, I opted out of the muscles – not that it made Rob feel any better about the meal he was about to endure. The only white fish available that day was some beautiful Dover Sole, which happens to be Rob’s favorite, so despite its delicateness we dared it to stand up to the bold flavors, and planned for its accompanying role in the stew.

Then it was on to cooking. Cioppino is not a hard dish to make, it just has a lot of ingredients which can make it seem overwhelming. I am usually pretty good with my mise en place, so after the chopping and set up, bringing everything together as a piece of cake (or a bowl of stew!)

We shared the Cioppino with some close friends, and with a dollop of Lemon Aioli and a chunk of artisan crusty bread, we communed with gobbling and slurping and clanking clam shells into the shell bowl. Except for the occasional shrimp sneaking its way over to my dish, Rob ate, and thoroughly enjoyed the light, fresh, homey, and slightly spicy fish stew. The dinner smelled amazing while cooking, tasted amazing while eating, and we were all truly amazed at anti-shellfish boy scarfing it down.

Please don’t be intimidated by the ingredients here; Cioppino really is as easy (if not easier!) to make as most meat stews, and so, so satisfying. If you can’t find veal and pork sausage, use whatever hot, medium, or mild meat combination you love. Just adjust your salt and pepper flake seasoning. If I can get Rob to eat fish stew, then I’m sure you’ll love it!

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

2 tbsp olive oil

s&p

chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Lemon Aioli, recipe follows

Lemon Aioli (makes about 2 cups)

2 c good quality mayo (or make it yourself!)

zest and juice of one large lemon

5ish drops of Tabasco sauce

a pinch of s&p

Start browning the sliced, or unencased sausage in the olive oil in a large dutch oven over med-high heat. Once browned, remove from pot and set aside. Add the onion, leek, fennel, and celery, some s&p , and saute until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, and then deglaze with the white wine, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. After about 3-5 minutes, add in the tomatoes, the browned sausage, and fish stock. Let come to a boil. Once boiling, add the crushed red pepper and bay leaves, and bring down to a simmer. Simmer covered for about 30-45 minutes.

While stew is simmering, clean the shellfish – peel and devein the shrimp, and gently scrub the clams. If any clams are broken or open, discard (unless it is just slightly open – then hold the clam firmly between your thumb and first and middle finger and tap the clam on the counter top. If the clam closes, it is still alive and able to be cooked and eaten. If it does not close, then discard). Also, cut the white fish of choice into large chunks, similar to the size you would use to make fish and chips.

Add the fish and shellfish to the pot, cover, and check after 5 minutes. NOTE: if using a heartier white fish, like Halibut, add the white fish first to cook for a few minutes before adding the shellfish. When the clams have opened and the shrimp are pink and opaque, the stew is ready to serve.

Serve in big soup bowls, garnish with parsley, and a large dollop of Lemon Aioli.

Enjoy!

(Sorry about the lack of pictures; we got carried away with the cooking… and the eating!)